I am poised to get my hands on The Wolves of Calla, #5 in the Dark Tower books. I got the sense that maybe I should reread Salem’s Lot, since Father Callahan is in both. Do I need to? What other books in the King canon do I NEED to reread in order to fully appreciate the core novels in this series. I am not asking for a list of related books, since it seems that nearly all King’s books tie in somehow; I just want to essentials (including short stories).
Thanks.
I do not think you NEED to read Salem’s Lot. I think it would be just fine if you read The Wolves of the Calla, and then decided whether or not you were interested enough in Father Callahan go to back and read Salem’s Lot. Nothing about the plot of Salem’s Lot is particularly crucial to understanding what’s going on Wolves, and the parts of Father Callahan’s character that are important are detailed again in Wolves.
Sorry to state the obvious, but you have read the other DT books, yes? Those I would say one NEEDS to read, it’s not the kind of series where most people would enjoy picking it up in the middle.
I really don’t think there are any other SK books you NEED to read to enjoy Wolves fully, but if I were to make a list of things that you might possibly want to read to get some of the background fleshed out a little bit more, the first novella in Hearts in Atlantis, “Low Men in Yellow Coats,” would top that list. This has the closest relationship to the events related in Wolves.
Yes, I have read all the other Dark Tower books. I understand there are several short stories that have a direct bearing on the series, and that certain other novels also have close ties. I’ve read everything by King up to and including Insomnia, which I did not understand at the time because I hadn’t read the Dark Tower books; I may go to the library and reread the end so I can finally make some sense of it. Something about The Crimson King, but it’s all hazy now.
Having read The Stand really helped me understand Wizard and Glass (when they arrive at Topeka, Flagg, etc.), so I was wondering how much 'Salem’s Lot might inform my reading of The Wolves of the Calla. Or any other King books, for that matter.
If you haven’t read them, you might check out The Talisman and Black House. They’re not essential to Wolves of the Calla, but they ARE related.
In Black House, for example, It’s implied that The Territories that Jack Sawyer flips into is the same world, or related to the same world, as Roland’s.
In the list of other books by King in the front of Wolves of the Calla, he has bolded any title that relates to the Dark Tower series.
Oh, and I can’t think of SEVERAL short stories related to it, but in Everything’s Eventual, there IS a story about Roland, though it happened before the Dark Tower series takes place, so it’s not really necessary to read it to understand the DT books.
Who is the baby that needs to be saved in Insomnia? I feel like I used to know this but I have forgotten, since it’s been so long since I read it. Is it Jake Chambers?? Or maybe Jack Sawyer?
It’s neither, actually.
In Insomnia, the kid that has to be saved is with his mother at the rally. Apparently, according to Atropos and Lachesis, this kid saves someone else in the future, and THAT kid goes on to have some sort of impact on the Dark Tower.
Do we never really know what the hell was the point of Insomnia? I was so angry after I finished that book because it was 600 pages of build-up to an ending I just did not get. It put me off King until I got this sudden urge to read The Dark Tower after the 10th person randomly recommended it to me.
So I should read the relevant stories in Everything’s Eventual and Hearts in Atlantis. Will do. 'Salem’s Lot is not necessary to reread, though I may do it anyway over Xmas break. Anything else I must hit in order to grok The Dark Tower in fullness?
This isn’t quite right. First, it’s Clotho and Lachesis. Atropos was the third one, the agent of random. Second, what they tell Ralph is that Patrick Danville, the kid in question, will one day save two men, one of whom is of great importance. I’m guessing Roland and Callahan.
Okay, so I had one of the three names wrong.
The rest of what I posted was right, for the most part. It’s been a while since I read it. Sue me. 
Other than that, however, I’m wondering how Jack Sawyer from The Talisman and Black House fits into the equation.
I posted this theory a while ago, but my guess is that The Talisman Jack finds is one of the thirteen magic sphere in Roland’s world. It’s not Black Thirteen, obviously, but its powers are similar… I think it’ll come into play again.
Rubystreak, Black House and the first part of Hearts in Atlantis would be good to read at some point, because that’s where you start to get a good explanation of the Breakers and the nature of the Tower. Other than that, most of the story is self-contained in the five books so far and “The Little Sisters of Eluria” (the short novel found in Everything’s Eventual). The other related books have so far just been sort of cool references to Roland’s world, but nothing paarticularly deep or revealing yet. Nobody’s sure how Insomnia fits in just yet.
So I guess the point is, no, pre-reading 'Salem’s Lot isn’t essential for Wolves of the Calla.
I remember you posting that, and it was something that I hadn’t thought of. Also, what about Peter and Thomas from Eyes of the Dragon? Could they have a part in the next two novels?